“Poetry is the smile to my soul,” says Chandni Hemdev, the aspiring poet who qualified for the Slam India Retreat in Goa hosted by Slam India, in association with Youth Speaks USA and DelSlam India. Chandni is a final year media student at the Center for Management Studies, Jain (Deemed-to-be University), and a recent entrant into the relatively young art form of Slam Poetry. “Slam poetry is basically the coming together of different poets, who may or may not write in different genres, but put forth their unpublished work. A slam is the poetic version of a music jam. Just like how singing a song normally is different from jamming for one, slam poetry is different from a normal poetry recital,” she explains.
Slam India Retreat when she submitted some of her original poems to the organizers of the event. She was identified from a pool of 350 applicants spread across India and expects to be a more learned individual after the retreat, “Poetry in all forms has always made me grow as a person. I have only read the other poets, hearing them out and also performing in front of a huge crowd is definitely going to just increase the highs on my learning and growing curve.”
Although she is new to Slam Poetry, Chandni has been writing poetry since a very young age. She launched her collection of poems “Something written, yet unwritten” this year. “I did launch ‘Something written, yet unwritten’ online in January. The response was dull since most of the people in the country are still not comfortable with shopping online. I decided to launch the book offline via Sapna Book House’s publication division, SapnaInk. The response has been escalating; my best supports have already taken their excitement at a fashionable level and picked their author-signed copy of the book,” says Chandni cheekily.
The thought process behind naming her first collection as “Something written, yet unwritten” was simple, “I have a poem titled with the same name, and that name was appreciated a lot and so was the poem, besides, it went with my theme and gave the exact mystic outlook I wanted to express.” The poem “Forlorn” from the collection is really close to her heart, My personal favorite of the collection is a poem titled ‘Forlorn’ because it is one piece I never figured while writing and I have used my best emotions, literal imagery, and the best of my vocabulary to express that poem.”
Chandni has her own perceptions about the popularity of poetry among today’s generation, “Poetry has always been a very niche form of literature, and the popularity is definitely growing now more than ever with the numerous poetry recitals and competitions that include slam poetry. So as a medium, it is doing exceptionally well for itself and the good thing is readers are taking a lot more interest in it. For the reader’s attention span is low and poetry is easy to read because of its short lines and direct meanings.”
Jain (Deemed-to-be University) has always been a pillar of support for this talented youngster whether it is finding time for her creative expressions or submitting her assignments on time, “Jain (Deemed-to-be University) was the best decision of my life. Had it not been for Jain (Deemed-to-be University) ’s education culture, and timings, it would be extremely hard to do so much in my life. Having done 12 internships in two-and-a-half years is still a myth to me, but Jain (Deemed-to-be University) made it more than well possible. Also the teachers, staff, and most importantly my Head of the Department Professor Madhavan, and Centre Head Professor Dinesh, who were my pillars in everything I put my hand at. They have given me all the support and encouragement to bring me where I stand today.”
Apart from her yearning for poetry, Chandni is passionate about weddings. She has started a wedding planning firm called “Purple Moon Weddings”. She intends to continue writing and manage her firm in the future.
